Many product and service retailers maintain web sites that are accessible over the Internet. Oftentimes, the retailers attempt to personalize the web sites for the visitor by collecting information about the visitor and requiring him or her to log in with the web site before browsing through it. This visitor information can comprise personal information such as the visitor's identity, addresses, and phone numbers; purchasing information such as a credit card information and a billing address; and profile information such as demographic information, interests, and so forth. The information can be collected in various ways. Most commonly, the information is either obtained directly from the visitor by having the visitor complete an online questionnaire, or indirectly by tracking selections or other actions made by the visitor while the visitor browses the web site.
With this information, the web site can be personalized for the visitor to one degree or another so as to provide more direct access to the products and/or services in which the visitor is likely to be interested. By collecting this information, various advantages are obtained both for the visitor and the retailer. From the perspective of the visitor, the search for particular items can be expedited in that these items can be displayed for the visitor, for example, on the web site's home page. To cite a specific example, where the visitor has communicated an interest in sports to an online bookseller, the visitor can be presented with a list of the newest and/or most popular sports books being offered by the bookseller when the visitor visits the bookseller's web site. From the perspective of the retailer, sales are more likely where the visitor is offered items in which the user has expressed an interest.
Although data collection in the manner described above provides clear advantages to both the visitor and the retailer, several disadvantages currently exist. One significant drawback is that the visitor information is collected on a site-by-site basis and therefore typically is not shared between sites. Accordingly, where personalization is desired, the visitor may need to enter his or her information repeatedly at many different sites. In addition, when the visitor wishes to return to the site, he or she normally must remember (or have recorded) a username and password that are used to identify the visitor and therefore permit personalization of the site. Where the visitor has registered with several different sites, the visitor may need to remember (or have recorded) many different usernames and/or passwords. Moreover, where the user wishes to change the information the web site host maintains (e.g., if the visitor moves or his or her interests change in some way), the information must be corrected on an individual basis at each site.
Another significant problem relates to security. Even where one or more sites are “secure,” visitors often do not feel comfortable with the idea of sharing personal or other sensitive information such as home addresses, credit card numbers, etc. with web site hosts unless necessary to make an online purchase. Unfortunately, however, personalization of the visited web site may not be feasible without exchange of such information, especially where this information was given to the web site host on a previous visit. In addition to security concerns, a further drawback of present systems is that the visitor often does not have control over the profile created for the user. For instance, where the visitor visits an online bookseller to purchase a book for a friend, an incorrect profile may be formulated by the web site host if the web site is adapted to track visitor selections. Specifically, the host may mistakenly view the visitor purchase as an indication that the visitor is personally interested in the subject to which the book pertains.
From the foregoing, it can be appreciated that it would be desirable to have a system and method for sharing information that avoids one or more of the disadvantages identified above.